In the maintenance of carpeted floors, a variety of power-driven implements have been utilized to facilitate scrubbing and cleaning of relatively large carpeted areas. One popular machine for such maintenance work is a rotary scrubbing machine. Such a machine is shown in FIG. 1 and generally includes an electric motor, a handle extending at an angle upwardly toward the operator from a motor housing, a holding tank, which contains cleaning fluid, positioned on or above the motor housing and a scrubbing, polishing disk or base member attached to the motor drive shaft beneath the motor.
The disk or base member usually includes a cleaning pad or bonnet disposed thereon. This bonnet bears directly on the floor or carpet and applies the cleaning fluid thereto. The combined rotational, lateral and forward movement of the bonnet performs the cleaning and scrubbing action.
Conventional bonnets are more or less of a mop-like or shag-like consistency in that the surface which bears on the carpet is relatively soft and yielding. The trouble with such conventional bonnets is that they lack the aggressive stripping and scrubbing fibers which are necessary to perform an effective cleaning action. Such conventional bonnets are about as effective as using a standard mop over the surface of a rug, no worthwhile deep cleaning action is achieved.
More recently, bonnets have been provided with firmer surfaces. These bonnets are made by tightly looping strands of strong synthetic material through a base sheet of material. The resulting bonnet is much like a hooked rug as its working surface is quite firm. The firmer surface is advantageous in that it actively cleans the carpet and loosens a considerable amount of dirt which is lodged deep in the carpet or rug. However, these bonnets are problematic because they do not efficiently absorb the loosened dirt.
Other more recent bonnets have included generally radially disposed strips of fibers which are more like the consistency of conventional hair brushes. Such fibers possess an even better scrubbing action, but they also lack the feature of picking up and retaining the dirt which is released from the rug or carpet.
Still other bonnets combine the above features by providing a basically firm and fabricated-like hooked rug which includes radial strips of fibers and arcuate strips of fibers close to the circular edge of the bonnet. These fibers serve a scrubbing purpose and the firm, hooked-rug-like portion of the bonnet serves to further scrub the floor or carpet and, at the same time, serves to absorb and retain some of the dirt which is released from the floor or carpet.
The disadvantages in such combination cleaning bonnets is inherent in the fact that different materials are used on the face of the bonnet. Since different materials are used, the life of the bonnet is directly attributable to the material which wears out first. Consequently, a need arose for a bonnet wherein the different materials could be independently changed to thereby increase the life of the bonnet. Additional disadvantages with the conventional cleaning bonnets is that since they are rotated in only one direction, the bonnets tend to wear or become matted down in one direction, thereby decreasing the cleaning efficiency of the bonnet. Therefore, a need has arisen wherein the life of the bonnet can be increased.